Tea Tree Oil Zit Zapper

As great as coconut oil is for oh so many things, it's not perfect. For people with oil/acne prone skin, it can mean a nasty break out. After I used coconut oil to remove my eye makeup (and carelessly getting some on my cheek) I woke up to this bad boy:

Yikes! I used to be uber self-conscious about my enormous pores, but I don't even think about them anymore. I wouldn't mind finding a natural way to shrink them a bit... but that's another post for another day.

Forget the big pores. This angry zit is all I can see when I look in the mirror! So I applied a few drops of tea tree oil via Q-tip and this evil monster healed pretty quickly with no squeezing/picking/drying out/flaking. Day two was hard only because I REALLY wanted to pop this guy, but I refrained.

And today, day 3, I'm much more comfortable with this... and thrilled I didn't follow the same pattern of destroying my skin with drying agents and picking and squeezing.

Kinda just looks like one of my freckles! I can't believe how well tea tree oil worked to hasten the healing of this enormous zit!!

Coconut Oil Eye Makeup Remover

I'm  a total coconut oil junkie.

I just discovered how fantastic it works to remove eye makeup and I'm just that much more obsessed! I luuuuuurv makeup. Thick winged eyeliner, smokey eyes, fun colors... I dig the dramatic eye. That said, I'm always struggling to remove all the war paint without tugging and stretching the delicate skin around the eyes. I've tried dozens of makeup removers and so called gentle cleansers. Owwwww they make my eyelids sting! I swear I have it all off and the next morning I look like a raccoon. ugh.

But not anymore!! With a tiny dab of coconut oil I barely have to wipe my eyes and bam... the makeup is gone baby gone. Simple. Organic. Safe. Cruelty free. Cheap. Already had it in my cabinet.

This was 3 swipes with a cotton ball and some coconut oil:

YESSIIIIRRR

*** Just be careful if you have oily/acne prone skin. If I'm not careful to keep the coconut oil just around my eye area, I will break out in a gnarly under-the-skin zit.

Coconut Oil Hair Mask

You can't log onto Pinterest without seeing the gazillion amazing uses for coconut oil. Weeeellll... I'm a total CO junkie, so I kinda buy into it all. Like the Dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding & his Windex.

Total cure-all.

My mask is simple: Coconut oil, Lavender, and Tea Tree Oils

If you don't do your research, you can end up with a mess. Here are some tips that I think a lot of the DIY hair mask posts are missing:

1. Use organic (duh)
2. Don't nuke it! Your body heat will be enough to melt it, so just use your hands.
3. Apply to dry hair (refer to oil vs water)
4. Cover your head to trap some heat. This will open your hair shaft and your hair will drink up the goodness!
5. To rinse out, DON'T GET YOUR HAIR WET before applying your cleansing conditioner (or shampoo if you aren't on the bandwagon yet). 
6. Also, don't use cool water because the coconut oil will become solid in a hurry.
7. Use warm water and cleanse, hydrate, and style as usual.
8. I do this weekly, but just experiment & see what works for you!

Grapeseed Oil for Your Face

I have oily skin.

Like, super oily. When I worked at a spa the estheticians used to gather around and inspect my skin under a magnifyer ooooing and aaaahing over how "tough" and oily my face was. I knew better than to get offended, because, they assured me this meant wrinkles weren't going to be a problem for me any time soon.

Luckily acne hasn't been an issue since my teenage years, but blackheads on my nose and a shiny face are my deal. This was all under control when I worked at the spa and got discounted high end skincare, but these days I don't have that luxury.

Soooo I'm still working on the whole blackhead issue, but my shiny face is just as matte as I want it!

The trick is my moisturizer. It's an oil, and some people bake with it. You guessed it...Grapeseed Oil!

I originally bought it for my hair but only use it for an occasional deep conditioning treatment. I kept reading about how great it was for skin and so I decided to test it out. Very few moisturizers have ever worked well for me.... Lord help me I was using leftover Oil of Olay I grabbed from the guest bathroom at my parents' house (times are tough)!

So I trashed that poison ... it literally stung my eyelids when I put it on... uhhh.. that can't be good.

So the past few days I've tried Grapeseed Oil and I loooooooove it! Two thumbs up. Not greasy. Not runny. No breakouts, no clogged pores. Simple, one ingredient moisturizer. I think I paid around $7 for 16 fl oz.

The Curly Girl Method: Advice to Newbies from a Newbie

Curly hair is a science. Don't believe me? Ask any curly girl to show you her arsenal of hair care potions and products.

I'm no expert in the curly girl world. I am an expert in how to fight and destroy your curls with chemicals and heat to achieve a fleeting moment of sleek straight hair.

I'm moving into my 5th month of no shampoo, no curling irons, no flat irons, no chemical laden products, so I have a bit of knowledge to share about how to start the process. I've listed a few very important things to keep in mind .... because reading the gazillion forums/posts/articles can be a tad overwhelming.

*this book is a great place to start!

Curly Girl basics are cleanse, hydrate,  & style.

This means you cleanse first with no sulfates <--- curly enemy #1
Some people use a "low poo" or fancy sulfate free gentle shampoo, but I just use conditioner.
Next, you hydrate. Again, I use a conditioner. Some people use a leave-in instead, some in addition to... it's all a ton of trial and error. Unfortunately there is no simple step by step miracle, but even the worst results are better than going back to destructive chemical abuse!
Finally, it's time to style. Gel, cream, whatever... again, you just have to experiment.

Forget about suds, squeaky clean, and obsessing about rinsing out all your conditioner.

Suds are for dishes. Squeaky clean is just weird... why should my hair make noises? Don't fret if you don't get all your conditioner out. In fact, most curly girls I know either leave it in completely or barely rinse it out. Once your scalp adjusts to the no poo thing, your thirsty curls will never betray you by becoming greasy with conditioner.... it just doesn't happen. It's possible that your curls could get limp, but that typically means the product isn't for you. 

 

What works for one curly girl will not necessarily work for you, even if you seem to have the same hair type. 

I have type 2c hair (find out your type here  so you know what the heck everyone is talking about with this type stuff). That said, I can tell you it's not 2c all over and not even every day. It's currently pretty short- growing out an asymmetrical pixie- so I'm going off of memory and old photos where I was on vacation and didn't have access to my curl fighting weapons. A product or routine that works great for one 2c probably won't work that well for me. I have a different background... consider the variables: hard water, type/frequency of coloring, humidity, porosity.

 

Speaking of porosity, it matters!

Determine your porosity here. Porosity describes how well your hair holds/absorbs moisture, so knowing your porosity can help you decide what products/routines will work for you. I have low porosity, which means I should stay away from protein rich products and use a bit of heat with deep moisturizing treatments.

 

No sulfates, ever.

Become a label reader. My solution? Check out the brands dedicated curly girls like DevaCurl and Shea Moisture.

 

Apply product to soaking wet hair.

This one was hard for me to get used to. My hair holds water for days, so adding gel to soaking wet hair just seemed ridiculous. BUT... I have to admit it prevents friz like you wouldn't believe.

 

No towel dried hair, please.

Don't reach for the towel! Instead, use an old T-shirt (don't buy a special curly hair towel for $12... that's just silly). 

 

Hands off! 

Don't touch your hair while it's drying. Just leave it alone. This one is tough for me too, but makes a huge difference. 

Who Cut the Cheese? DIY Car Freshener

Super EASY way to make a stinky car smell fantastic.

Since I started cutting out chemical fragrance, I find that now my nose is OFFENDED by the stench of faux ocean breezes and the like. Blegh. Anyone else experience this?

I am now an olfactory snob.

So my trusty Xterra is a mutt cab. There is no way around it. It's perpetually hairy because my fluffy dogs shed like mad and so do I. Not much I can do about that except vacuum it like a madwoman, so I just accept that it's always going to be at least a little furry.

However, I do not accept it constantly smelling like dog farts. I'm amazed at how long I can smell remaining dog funk after a road trip with the windows down! What's a dog loving mutt cab driver to do?

Ahhh, essential oils.

I found some leftover felt and cut/ glued it into a happy flower. You can get creative with this and make all kinds of felt art, but this happened to be something I've made before with my nieces so I just went with it. Next I tied some twine to the masterpiece and dropped a 12 drop combo of lavender and tea tree oil & voila! My car smells great!

Zoya, Non Toxic Nail Polish: A Review

I did it. I dumped all my nail polish.

I figured it would take entirely too long to transition slowly, and I can only paint my toes anyway (thanks to nursing school). So I ditched every last bottle. It was liberating, actually. Like tossing junk food without the regret.

I had never used non toxic nail polish and was skeptical it even existed. I've never been a fake nail kinda girl and it honestly boggles my mind that young girls get manicures and acrylic nails these days. I also work with tons of brides via Stella Clare and I always secretly cringe when they stick these ultra awkward looking faux nails on their fingers. Also, the dead giveaway that a girl knew her man was about to propose? French manicured fake nails in her obligatory engagement ring facebook photo upload! hahahaha! How is that even a thing? (<--- I ask that question way too often)

The fact that nail salons are in Wal Mart is reason enough to steer clear. Am I the only one that thinks these poor salon workers are in danger? The flimsy little masks should be our first clue that this stuff is not safe. I also see long fake nails and automatically think bacteria-fest. You know those girls aren't scrubbing under those talons every time they use the potty. Ew.

Anyway no offense to anyone that finds acrylic nail art attractive. I certainly love a good manicure. I don't find it in my meager budget to get pampered like that, either. I have never had a manicure I thought was worth THAT much money. A massage? Yes. A facial? Of course.

Manicures? I think I'll just keep it DIY. So Zoya is what appealed to me as far as color selection and the fact that it is a legit non toxic polish. Apparently there are some liars out there that market safe polish but aren't. Shocker.

No formaldahyde. No toluene. No DBP. <-- That's what they call the "toxic trio." Also, no camphor. So when I have a mani pedi party with my precious nieces, I don't have to worry about toxins. When my crazy cat licks my fingernails, I don't have to worry she's melting her brain cells. I also don't have to worry that I'm applying scary chemicals directly onto my body.

The color I chose was charisma. LOVE! It smells different than regular polish.. still strong, but not nearly as awful as the other stuff. It also just feels very different. Fast drying & a bit matte, which I like. Color was exactly the color of the bottle, which never seems to happen with the other stuff. Price was $7, which isn't cheap but many of the other non toxic brands I looked into were like $20!

However, I highly recommend using a top coat. 12 hours and one shower after the above photo was taken, this is what my nails looked like: